Desert Oasis

Desert Oasis with a bear.

This lovely home is in Sisters. The designer, Chris Henderson of Heartsprings Design, hired us to build this project to her and the client specifications. The site includes a water feature, paver patio, native enhanced drought plants, natural stone pathways, and other native materials to integrate the design with the site.

The clients of this property wanted a drought tolerant, low maintenance, entertainment friendly and native enhancing landscape. Heart Springs Design created a plan that addressed all of the client’s needs. With Heart Springs Design blueprint in hand, the Response to Nature crew installed this unique landscape. Big, natural stone slab steps and natural earth tone stepping stones are used to create the impressive entry. Native mossy boulders are used to retain earth to provide multiple planting and outdoor living levels. Flowing out of native rock is a waterfeature that blends with nature and provides sound that soothes. The water feature looks like it has been on this property for many years and meanders through mossy boulders that our crew meticulously installed. Inspired by nature our foreman and owner Bob directed the mechanics and aesthetics of this stand alone beauty. The paver patio adjacent to the house was built with a flagstone look and functional product. Pavers were scribed with peripheral boulders so the end result was “one with nature”. The planting palette blends with the native scape that the crew also restored. We cannot wait to see the owners entertain their guests at dinner on the natural stone terraces while listening to the waterfall with amazing mountain views!

Vacation Retreat

Rural, rustic outdoor living room vacation space.

Located in in the pine forests of Sisters, this weekend get-away was designed with low-maintenance, native deer tolerant plants focusing on outdoor living space and the natural environment. The original outdoor space consisted of a small rectalinear deck which limited useability. Our designer and team created an organically shaped paver patio with a rock firepit of indigenous natural rock. This allowed the client room for their outdoor furniture and barbecue, to spend their weekends away from the city, relaxing in their outdoor livingroom.

English Garden Retreat

Joe Pye Weed, Sweet Woodruff, Jupiter’s Beard, Brunneria , and Astilbe all make a beautiful shade garden.

Response To Nature’s Sandy Melchiori has worked closely with this client over the last couple years to create a this riot of color at their home along side the Aspen Lakes Golf Course. Something is always in bloom and drawing your eye to its vividness.

The design process began while the residence was being constructed in 2009. The bones of the garden were installed early in 2010. Since then we continue to finesse and add to this vibrant landscape.

Resort Living

Paver patio.

When a couple moves from the lush Portland landscape that they created to the high desert in Sisters, Oregon they want a hint of home in their new yard. Expansive green lawn is a key element in their landscape. Children, grandchildren, and their golden retriever will enjoy recreating on the big open lush emerald lawn. Groups of deciduous trees make a parklike setting. Private intimate garden and patio places become essential to this couple’s lifestyle. 

Upon entering the front enclosed courtyard, the sound of water flowing from the mossy volcanic boulder waterfall pulls with amazing sound. RTN enlarged the paver walkway into two patios flanking both sides of the front door. The owners often enjoy this courtyard on their patio furniture, sip coffee and listen to the waterfall and watch the birds in the new habitat. 

Another treat created by the RTN team is the secret garden with pavers and raised boulder planting areas to grow vegetables, blueberries, and cutflowers. Out back is an alpine perennial garden in the rockery next to a circular paver patio that has been enlarged to accommodate an outdoor dining table. The view from this patio of a big pond with native and golden willows growing on an island is outstanding! Everywhere you look there is jaw dropping views created by our team.

Rural Estate

Recreational & irrigation pond with sandy beach.

Perched on a hillside, this home has amazing views of the snow-capped Central Oregon Cascades Mountains. The house sits on top of a rock outcropping that sets the stage for dramatic landscape features.

Response To Nature was initially brought on board to integrate the hot tub with the native stone outcropping it was nestled into. Our working relationship broadened to restoring other terrain that was disturbed during home construction. As part of the restoration process, we installed an alpine rock garden that now provides a kaleidoscope of color spilling from the foundation of the house.

We took the alpine garden to another level by constructing a water feature. The house appears to have been built around this feature, which cascades down through the alpine garden, meanders across a grassy meadow, and splashes into a large, blue pond. The pond features a signature Response To Nature beach that is reminiscent of the Mediterranean. Secluded by large boulder walls, the beach is easily accessible by stone slab steps that we integrated into the hillside.

As this landscape matures, the client’s garden sculptures provide added interest and personal character.

Cabin in the Woods

Rustic cabin in the woods.

Located near Sisters, this long-time family vacation get-a-way needed updates before hosting a wedding in July of 2009. Improvements included renovating the outdoor living spaces to include the buffet counter adjacent to the grill, a pool with water feature near the deck, adding some lawn for the kids to play in, and native woodland plantings through out.

The cabin provides an opportunity to commune with nature and family, as well as an excellent escape from the hustle and bustle of the big city.

Treehouse

Progress of grading of natural landscape.

Response to Nature, Inc. enhanced this already exceptionally composed native landscape that surrounds the charming treehouse perched in the big Ponderosa Pines. Starting with the natural bluestone slab steps with places to pause and listen to the sound of water on this natural stone trail. Then upon entering the treehouse you will hear the dramatic sounds of water emerging and crashing onto the volcanic rock and splashing into the natural curving stream. The stream with its so subtle curves cascades over native rock falls and into a punctuated riparian pond.

Interpreting nature, our team installed mossy, native boulder outcroppings and retaining walls that seamlessly connect with the existing boulderscape.

Sisters Residence

Sisters Small Space-paver driveway border to widen radius, pergola to give shade to outdoor living area, curb appeal planting with Mugho Pine, Bristlecone Pine.

Moving from a neighborhood with substantially sized lots and lots of maintenance, this client wanted functional outdoor rooms with easy maintenance. Our lead designer created an outdoor living room with an arbor that integrates with the architectural aesthetics, privacy, and dog fencing to keep their dog, in, a circulating basalt column water feature that is a focus for the outdoor living room and creates beautiful sound, contemporary big square pavers for dining, and a firepit. Despite its smallness, every bit of the property is designed with detail and functionality in mind. Our team also enlarged the width of the driveway to allow for a wider turning radius and incorporated gray basalt boulders to retain a planting area that would otherwise remain a nondescript area.